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20 percent of Elk River's energy needs at that time. In 2009, the facility operated at over 98 percent of capacity. 136 In October 2012, a party was held at the facility to celebrate its tenth anniversary. The plant was accustomed to playing host: in the ten years since it opened, it had accommodated more than 100 tours, and roughly 30 percent were international visitors. At the celebration, Betsey Wergin, a member of the Minnesota Public Utility Commission who a decade earlier, as a Sherburne County commissioner,had been involved in the effort to build the facility, explained that a "diverse portfolio for energy is needed" because gas was becoming more expensive and solar and wind power did not always generate significant amounts of energy. By 2012, the Elk River facility was generating enough electricity to supply 2,500 residences. 137 ERMU also obtained electricity from GRE that was produced from waste. Great River's "Refuse Derived Fuel" involved a different process than ERMU's landfill gas-to-electricity plant: combustible materials in garbage were dehydrated and shredded, then used to power boilers. GRE's RDF facility annually converted 250,000 tons of garbage from Sherburne, Anoka, and Hennepin counties into power.138 The Jackson Street Water Tower The first municipally owned well in Elk River(Well No.1)was drilled by the McCarthy Well Company in 1919 on Princeton Street at a depth of 309 feet. A year later, the first water tower was built at the same location by the Minneapolis Steel and Machinery Company. This 100,000- gallon storage tank was a key to the growth of Elk River. In earlier years, Elk River had been challenged by fires burning down parts of the town. By providing a reliable source of water, the tower greatly reduced the risk of catastrophic fires. After Princeton Street's name was changed to Jackson Street, the water tower became known as the Jackson Street Water Tower. It remained in service until 1986 when the new one-million- gallon Freeport Street Water Tower was built. The higher elevation and significantly larger capacity of the new tower made the much smaller and shorter Jackson Street Water Tower obsolete. Well No.l was capped in 1996 due to excessive sand in the water and low production. In 2008, Elk River Municipal Utilities evaluated the ongoing maintenance costs for the non- functioning Jackson Street Water Tower and considered tearing it down. 136 ERMU,"Annual Report,"2004;"From Wind Turbine to Traffic Lights,Focus Is on Energy";"Elk River Municipal Utilities:2009 Year in Review,"at ERMU. 13'Joni Astrup,"Energy Project Celebrates Ten Years,"Elk River Star News,October 13,2012. lss Environmental Protection Agency,"What Is Refuse-Derived Fuel?," http://waste.supportportal.com/link/portal/23002/23023/Article/22529/What-is-Refuse-Derived-Fuel-RDF(accessed April 16,2014);Joni Astrup,"Great River Energy Plant Hits a Milestone:No Landfilling"Elk River Star News, April 11,2012. 37